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Chapter 9: Journey to Dravaldar
Although Mirlan made it clear that he saw the wood elve’s fear of arcane magic as ‘primitive and foolish’, he assured them that his king would help them establish a new wood elven capital in the south western part of the continent. As the fleet set sail again, towards the elven port of Kalen’dal, Mirlan explained that there were seven major races on Arconia, and that a continent wide war was on the horizon. He spoke of the Alliance, which was made up of elves, dwarves, and a race he kept a mystery. When asked why he wouldn’t speak of the other two races he said only, “It is better you see them for yourselves, so I don’t waste time trying to convince you my words are truth.” He also spoke of the orcs and the trolls, who had recently allied with each other. To this at least, the wood elves could apply truth. They had seen the orcs riding the winged behemoths, and marching on Lor’drassil. When Sadron brought up the dark scaled flying creatures, Mirlan claimed to know very little about them, but insisted that the other two races of the Alliance would know more, as they had met them in battle already. He explained that due to their blood ties to the elves of Misa’thral, the wood elves were also a part of the Alliance. He told Sadron that he would have to sign a nonaggression treaty with the other races, and eventually contribute to the war effort. Before any wood elf could protest, for he had this discussion with the king in front of his people whilst they ate dinner, he pointed out that the dark elves had clearly allied with his enemies already. When asked how his Alliance was handling this growing threat, Mirlan spoke of the multi-racial continental capital of Dravaldar. It was the closest and most heavily fortified city the Alliance had to the orcs and trolls, and it was where the wood elves would be staying while their ships remained off the coast to the west of Misa’thral. Several days passed before the fleet arrived at Kalen’dal, which was little more than a growing fishing port. There, Sadron and Mirlan ordered a skeleton crew to maintain the fleet as it sailed around the coast of Arconia. From Kalen’dal, the wood elves were given odd creatures to ride to the dwarven capital of Anastheim. These creatures were horses, yet the inhabitants of Arconia referred to them as rocco. After being warmly received at Anastheim, the wood elves marched for their final destination to the south, Dravaldar. They were assured that there would be plenty of room for them, as long as they helped construct and defend the city, which they agreed to do, and so they marched on. Finally, the main spire of Dravaldar came into sight of the wood elves forces. Many of them gaped and shouted in shock as the ‘most well-fortified and defended’ city of the Alliance lay before them, clearly half-done. Mirlan only chuckled, and continued riding on after assuring the wood elves that they would have plenty of room. As they approached from the north of the city, a horn rang out in what seemed like greeting. Then, soon after, a horn from the eastern part of the city rang out as well, this one seemed more urgent. The wood elves and their escort picked up the pace as their beasts began to gallop towards the city, the wood elves halted in their tracks as they looked up at the main spire of Dravaldar, and what perched upon it. It had four limbs, a pair of wings that were unfurled, a long deadly looking tail, and a head that resembled the black scaled beasts that had attacked them before they reached the Aerie. This creature however, was much, much larger, and its scales were the color of rubies, which glinted in the sunlight. The beasts head was turned directly towards them; however, it turned east as soon as the second horn blew. A ferocious roar shook the sky, and alarms rang throughout the city as it faded. The wood elves cowered in terror as the roar reminded them of that horrible night at sea. Mirlan, who was watching the wood elve’s reactions with a feral grin amplified his voice then pointed at the creature and shouted, “My cousins! I give you the third race of the Alliance of Arconia! DRAGONS!”